Innocents and Guilt
by Outsider21
Summary: Bo's been acting strange the last few day and then he's arrested red-handed, literally. Can He explain what happened and catch the real bad guys before his time runs out. - Bad summary I know. Rating cause I'm paranoid.
1. Murder

**So, my first ever multi-chapter story and my first posted _Dukes of Hazzard_ Fanfiction. Normally I would wait until I am completely done with a story before I post it because I don't want to be one of those people who start a story but never finish it (this is also why there aren't that many stories on my profile page) but I decided that I needed to start posting things.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Oh, and I don't own _Dukes of Hazzard_ or any of the characters...even if I wish I did. **

**Now on with the story...**

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Murder

Blood. Too much blood. Way too much for anyone to be alive, but she had a pulse. Her hands were tied behind her back and there was a knife wound in her abdomen. He pulled out his own knife and cut her hands free. Then, laying her on the ground, he put pressure on the wound. He had to get help but if he left her she would surely die. He sighed in relief when he heard the sirens coming towards them. He didn't question why they were coming or who had called for them but he was glad help was coming.

He heard someone stop in front of them and he looked to find Rosco. He looked shocked at what he was seeing. Frozen like he was, he was no help. He seemed to break out of his trance just as the paramedics rushed past him. He grabbed Bo by the wrist the moment the paramedics took over caring for the girl.

"How could you, Bo?" Rosco asked as he cuffed his hands behind his back, "I knew you were always one with a quick temper, but I never thought you would do something like this."

"What-wait you don't think I did this." Bo asked trying to look at the Sheriff, "You can't really think that, Rosco. I didn't do this. I came out here to help her. Please, Rosco, you have to believe me."

"Bo, just remain silent. It's bad enough without you sayin' anything."

Rosco lead Bo to his patrol car and put him in the back after reading him his rights. As they headed towards town Bo tried not to think about what this could mean for him. If Rosco had the evidence to say he killed her, how long would he be put away? He allowed Rosco to process him without a word. He wasn't the smartest person in the world, but he understood how this looked. There was nothing he could say or do to get him out of this. Rosco left Bo downstairs telling him vaguely that he would call Uncle Jesse and that he should get some sleep.

But Bo couldn't sleep. He was tired, yes, but every time he closed his eyes he saw her face so pale that she had to be dead. He looked down at his hands but they were still red from her blood. So Bo took to staring at the wall instead, trying to think of anything but her. The sound of his Uncle's voice broke his trance and he realized it was early morning before most of the town was even up.

"We want ta see him, Rosco. Let us see Bo." Jesse's voice floated down the stairs to the cell that Bo was in. He sounded angry and confused, but at what Bo had no idea because he didn't know how much Rosco had told him on the phone.

"You can't…"Rosco started but was interrupted by Luke.

"What do you mean we 'can't'? He's family. We're allowed to see him."

"You can't because I'm not holding him for attempted murder. I just got word that the girl died. So I'm holding him for murder and according to county law he'll have no visitors."

That was all Bo had to hear to tell him he was a goner. He was headed straight to federal prison, probably for life, and that was if he was lucky. This was Georgia, after all, and they still have the death penalty. He wouldn't be able to find the real killer in there but maybe Luke could. That was if Bo could tell Luke what he need to know, but that would mean being able to talk to Luke.

"Look, Rosco. I'll be the first one to admit that Bo hasn't been acting like himself, but let's give him a chance to explain what happened. I'm sure he can explain why he was with her."

Rosco seemed to agree to Luke suggestion, probably because he, too, wanted to know what had happened. A second later the holding room was full of people. Luke, Daisy, Jesse, Rosco, Enos, and even Cooter filed into the small space.

"Hey, Bo," Luke said when Bo didn't say anything. It appeared as though Bo hadn't noticed the group file in. He seemed to be looking at the floor. He hadn't even moved but he had seen them, could see them, and he didn't like what he saw. "You want to tell us why you were out in that field?"

Bo's eyes met Luke's and what he saw there hurt more than the thought of prison. Luke thought he had killed her, Bo could see it written on his face, in his eyes. For whatever reason Luke believed that Bo was capable of doing something so…vile. "Would you even listen if I tried?" Bo asked finally turning away from them all with tears in his eyes. Any hope he had that Luke would find the killer was now gone, "Y'all seem to have already decided the worst of me. Would you even believe a word I said?"

Luke looked around at the others and understood what Bo meant. They all had the same look of disappointment and worry on their faces and he was sure he had the same look on his own. It was no wonder Bo didn't believe they'd listen. "Bo? Bo, look at me please." He waited for Bo to do as he asked before continuing, "We'll listen. We will, but you have to tell us what happened. Why don't you start with who she was?"

Bo saw that his cousin meant what he said and sighed, "Y'all might wana sit down. It's a long story." He waited for everyone to find a seat; Luke pulled a chair up to the bars so that he was sitting across from Bo. This was fine with him. It would be like telling everything thing to Luke; something he should have done the moment he met her.

"It was Mary Lou Wright." Bo said to Luke and saw understanding cross his face. He was about to continue when Rosco interrupted.

"Who's Mary Lou Wright?"

Luke answered that question, "She's a reporter. We met while on the NASCAR circuit." He looked at Bo and signaled for him to continue.

Bo cleared his throat and started to tell them what had happened…

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**Yeah, so, there you go. Let me know what you think by leaving me a little review.**

**Oh and I will try and post 1ch. per week, maybe two if you can convince me :)**


	2. An Old Friend Comes to Town

**Thanks for the reviews. I will try to update one chapter a week until it's finished, unless you can convince me to do more ;)**

**As always, I don't own _The Dukes of Hazzard_ or any of the characters, except for Mary Lou, I just like playing with them.**

**Onto Chapter 2!**

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An Old Friend Comes to Town

Bo was driving home for Capital City where Uncle Jesse had sent him to pick up a part for the tractor. He was enjoying the rare 75° weather and the cool breeze that blew through the window. Johnny Cash's _Ring of Fire_ was playing on the radio and Bo was singing along.

Just as he turned the corner that brought him into Hazzard County, a car came into view at the side of the road. Bo was brought up to help out strangers who needed it, even if that got them into trouble, so he pulled up behind the tan Sudan and got out of the truck.

"Howdy." He said to the lady who was trying, unsuccessfully, to pull the spare tire from the trunk, "Do you need a hand?"

"That would be wonderful." She said with only slight hesitation. She stopped fighting with the tire and turned to see who it was that was kind enough to help her. "Three cars passed by without so much as–Bo!?"

"Mary Lou? What are you doing in Hazzard?" Bo was surprised to see her here especially after how things had ended with Luke.

"I'm a…well, to tell ya the truth Bo; I'm kind of hiding out here for a little while."

"Are you alright? What happened? Is there anything I can do?"

Mary Lou smiled. She had forgotten how compulsive Bo was. "Slow down Bo, one question at a time. I'm fine, really I am. I just got in too deep with this story I was working on, but it's nothing I can't handle. As for the help part, I've said too much already, so how about you just change this flat."

"You've hardly told me anything." Bo complained but did as she asked. The tire was changed in no time. He tossed the tire into the trunk and turned to face Mary Lou. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help you out? You know Luke and I-"

"No really, Bo. Thank you, but I don't want to drag you and Luke into this. Please, don't tell anyone I'm in town not even Luke. Promise me."

"Alright," Bo said not liking this one bit but he knew what she was like; stubborn. "At least tell me what frequency you're using."

"22." She said, with a small smile as she opened the door. It was a private station that hardly anyone, besides the Dukes and Cooter, used and that was only during emergencies. She gave Bo a kiss on the cheek and a 'thank you' before driving off.

~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~

"That was three days ago." Bo said looking at the floor again, "I should have told you then, Luke. I'm sorry."

Luke waved off the apology, "She asked you not to tell me and I know her well enough to know she wouldn't let you leave without agreeing to her terms. At least that explains why you looked so worried and distracted when you got home."

"But who was after her?" asked a voice from the stairs, which caused them all to jump. Boss Hogg was sitting on the stairs that led down to the holding area seeming listening to Bo tell his story. No one had heard him come down which was strange to begin with.

"I didn't find that out 'til the next day after I saw her in town." Bo said ready to continue when Cooter interrupted.

"You mean that sweet little lady I saw ya arguin' with near Rhuebottom's" he asked sitting up a little straighter, "that's the girl we're talking about?"

"I saw you too, Bo," Enos chimed in looking a little guilty about what he was about to reveal, "an' I heard her say 'Stay away from me' which I thought was strange cause I ain't never seen her in town before. I wasn't sure how you two knew each other."

"That's out of context, Enos." Bo said with a sad smile. Of course someone had seen them and of course the whole thing would be blown out of perspective. "Yeah, Cooter, that was Mary Lou and she could knock you into next week if she wanted to."

They all got silent and it was several minutes before that silence was broken. "Why don't ya tell us what happened in town that day?" Uncle Jesse suggested bringing everyone out of their thoughts and back to reality, a reality that no one really seemed to like.

"Well, I went into town 'cause Mr. Rhuebottom said our order of feed had come in. I parked the General over at Cooter's and….."

~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~

Cooter was working on Jeb Johnson's truck when Bo pulled up. Normally, he would have taken the fact that Cooter hadn't noticed him as a chance to have some fun but he was still thinking about Mary Lou. So instead he parked the General and headed over to Rhuebottom's to get the feed without so much as a greeting to his old friend. He was so distracted that he walked right into whoever was coming out of the store.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ma'am." Bo said reaching out to grab the bags that had fallen to the ground. Rhuebottom's had a lot of things, including ammunition, but Bo was surprised by how much was there. He looked up to see who he had walked into only to find that it was Mary Lou.

"Thanks, Bo." She said grabbing the bags from him as she went to walk away. To Bo she looked even more scared then she had yesterday and the fact that she looked like she was preparing for a war only made Bo worry more.

"Mary Lou, wait." Bo said reaching out and grabbing her arm. She looked like she was going to hit him, which would've really hurt coming from her, but she didn't. She just allowed herself to be turned around. It worried Bo to see tears in her normally strong eyes. "Please, Mary Lou; tell me what's going on. I want to help you, but I can't do that if you don't tell me what happened."

"I can't, Bo. You would be in danger if I told you and I don't want to get you involved."

"I was involved the moment I stopped to help you yesterday." Bo said trying to get her to understand that he was already apart of whatever it was she had gotten herself into. Nothing was going to change that fact. The only thing they could do now was involve as few people as possible.

"If you know what was good for you, you'd stay away from me. I'm nothing but trouble."

Bo knew this wasn't a laughing matter but he wanted to laugh. After everything Luke had told her about them, she should know that trouble stuck to them like a fish to water; she didn't have to bring it to them. Bo couldn't just turn his back on her and he couldn't let her leave when he knew she was in trouble so he used to the only weapon he had at his disposal.

"If you don't tell me what's wrong I'll tell Luke you're in town." Bo said hoping he was getting his point across. It seemed to work because her eyes went wide.

"You wouldn't." she said trying to sound confident, but missed the mark, "You wouldn't endanger Luke like that, any more than I would."

"Try me. You're in trouble and I want to help you so either you tell me, and only me, or me and Luke. That's up to you, but I'm not going to just stand by and let you get hurt."

She glared at him for a moment and he started to think maybe he'd gone too far when she left out a sigh. "Alright" She said taking out a piece of paper and writing something down, "I'll tell you but not out here. Meet me at this address at six and I'll explain everything to you then." She handed the paper to Bo and turned to leave.

Bo smiled at the little note knowing that only Luke could have told her about this spot. "Thanks, Bo." He heard her say as she drove off. He didn't like having to lie to his family but what else could he do. Sighing he headed into Rhuebottom's to get what he'd come here for.

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**And Chapter 2 is done! Let me know what you think by leaving a review!**


	3. After Me

**Here's Chapter 3. We are now competely cought up with my completed chapters and, while I have the next one started, it may take me more than a week to post so don't get dissappointed if you don't see anything for a week or two.**

**As always, I don't own _any of the Dukes of Hazzard_ characters, only my character Mary Lou, but I do like to play with them.**

**Enjoy!**

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After Me

"I told y'all that I had a last minute date with Sara Beth." Bo said more to his family then everyone else, "I just didn't expect Daisy to go asking her how the date went later."

"Ya know, I thought that the date went so bad that she just didn't want to take about it." Daisy said remembering the way Sara Beth had denied ever having a date with Bo.

"I know." Bo replied with a small smile at her, "She asked me about it later and the entire thing got me slapped."

"Where were you two going to meet?" Jesse asked trying to keep the story on course. The sooner they knew what happened the sooner they could get Bo out of jail.

"The fishing hole. She wasn't staying there but that's where she said to meet."

"What did she tell you?" Luke asked quietly. He couldn't image what Mary Lou could have gotten herself into that would want to make someone come after her. She did reports on NASCAR, how could she have gotten into so much trouble

Bo swallowed hard. He would remember that night for the rest of his life. "She was late." Bo started after a while so suddenly and so quiet that even Luke had to lean forward to hear what he was saying, "She was so late that I was just about to…"

~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~DH~

Bo looked out at the clear, calm pond starting to get really worried. He had been waiting for almost two hours and Mary Lou still hadn't shown. He was ready to grab the CB and tell Luke everything when she appeared. She looked so pale in the moon light that Bo thought maybe she was sick, but she looked too shaken, too scared.

"Sorry Bo. I lost track of time." She said as she took a seat on the bank of the pond. It was clearly a lie but Bo wasn't going to call her on it. "Where you waiting long?"

"Not really. I was running late myself." He replied as he took as seat next to her. They were silent for a while neither knowing where to start the conversation.

"I got promoted after you two left." Mary Lou said suddenly, without looking at him, "I was finally an Investigative Reporter. I final had the job I always wanted; turned out it was more than I could handle."

"A file landed on my desk that was too important to pass up. I found out something big. The only problem was who I was investigating. They discovered what I was doing before I had a chance to expose them."

"Mary Lou," Bo interrupted before she got too involved in her story, "just who were you investigating?"

She looked over at him now and he saw no fear present on her face. Her eyes were strong and determined, like they use to be. "For a while now, the Italian Mob had been trying to get a foothold here in Georgia. They're believed to be involved in most of the crimes that have happened in Atlanta in the last few months, including selling drugs to kids. No one could prove it though."

Bo nodded his understanding. He knew that Mary Lou's little brother had died from drug over dose a few months after they met her. She was determined to find whoever sold the drugs to him.

"About three months ago, I came across a file that led me to believe I had a way to catch them. I was able to record a conversation that would close down the operation, in Georgia, for good. The only problem was they found me first."

"Why didn't you go to the FBI?" Bo asked. That seemed like the logical thing to do.

"I never got that far. They came after me before I could and I've been on the run ever since. I thought I lost them down in Florida, so I started to make my way back to Atlanta. "

"You saw someone tonight, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Mary Lou replied after a moment of hesitation. She had promised to tell Bo everything and this was everything. She did know what to do anymore. She used to always know what to do but this time, no matter how much she didn't want to ask for it, she needed help. "Bo, I…I need your help. I don't know what to do. I just know I can't do this alone."

"I'll help you, Mary Lou. I will but for now could you tell me where it is that you're keeping them files. I'm not saying anything's going to happen, but if it does, someone should know where those files are."

She nodded before leaning in close to whisper it into his ear. No sooner had she spoken the word did head lights flood the area around them as a car pulled up to the edge of the ledge that over looked the pond. "I thought no one knew about this place." Mary Lou asked as the car came to a stop and a figure got out.

"No one does." Bo replied grabbing Mary Lou's arm and pulling her towards the woods and the General Lee. The only way to get to the pond, besides the steep overhang, was to walk. They made it to the cover of the trees just as a shoot rang out and a bullet splinter the bark of a tree to their right.

The General came into view a few moments later and he was about to tell Mary Lou to get in when she let go of his hand. "My car's right there." She said pointing to a car parked not too far away from the General, "I'll take it and meet up with you tomorrow. I'll call you on the CB and tell you where to meet."

"You sure, Mary Lou?" Bo asked not like this plan seeing as someone had just taken a shot at them.

"I'm sure Bo." With that she was back in her car and heading down the road, leaving Bo to worry as he headed back to the farm, praying the whole way that she would be ok until tomorrow.

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**Wow. Didn't realize how short this chapter was, sorry.**

**Again, it may take me longer to post the next chapter because it's not done yet.**

**Make sure you leave me a review!**


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